St Andrews on a Budget: Play the Home of Golf Without Breaking the Bank

St Andrews is synonymous with expensive golf, and it's true that a round on the Old Course currently costs £295 in peak season. That fact gets repeated so often that it overshadows the more useful fact: St Andrews has seven golf courses, run by the Links Trust, and the cheapest of them costs £20.

The budget approach to St Andrews is not a compromise. It's a different version of the trip — and in some ways, if you're a visitor who hasn't played links golf before, it might be the better one.

The seven courses and what they cost

Old Course — £295 (peak), £185 (winter). The famous one. Requires either a successful ballot, an advance reservation (booked through the Links Trust website up to 12 months ahead), or a single-player walk-on (rare, early morning, takes luck).

New Course — £120 (peak), £65 (winter). Opens to visitors by online booking. As good as many courses that charge £200+. Fast greens, excellent condition. Often overlooked because of its name.

Jubilee Course — £90 (peak), £50 (winter). More recently renovated, longer than the New, considered by many to play hardest of the Links Trust courses after the Old. Excellent value.

Castle Course — £120 (peak), £70 (winter). Built in 2008 on elevated ground above the sea, with views that justify the visit even before you've hit a shot. Exposed and windswept. Divisive among golfers but spectacular.

Eden Course — £55 (peak), £35 (winter). Inland in character, shorter and gentler. A good first-day option if you want to warm up before something more demanding.

Strathtyrum Course — £40 (peak), £25 (winter). Shorter still, tree-lined in places. Accessible for all abilities. A good opener or finisher if you're doing multiple rounds over a visit.

Balgove Course — £20 (peak and off-peak). A nine-hole par-3 course. No handicap required, no booking needed — you just turn up and pay at the starter's hut. Families, beginners, and people who want a casual hour on the Old Course side of the Links are all here. Worth doing even if you're only in St Andrews for the day.

The budget two-night visit

Day 1: Strathtyrum or Eden

Start easy. Get used to the St Andrews links environment — the firm turf, the sea air, the pace — without the pressure of playing a course you've travelled thousands of miles to play well. Strathtyrum costs £40, Eden £55. Book through the Links Trust website (linksstandrews.com) at least a few days ahead in summer.

Walk the Old Course after your round. It's a public road; the path along the course is open to walkers. You can walk across the Swilcan Bridge, stand on the 18th green, and see the town end of the course without paying £295. The starter won't stop you; the course is a public park.

Day 2: Jubilee or New Course

The Jubilee at £90 or the New at £120. Either is a genuinely substantial day's golf. The Jubilee is currently considered the better test, though course condition fluctuates between them. Both open to online advance booking.

The Old Course ballot (as a free bonus attempt)

Every morning, the Links Trust runs a ballot for unclaimed Old Course tee times for the following day. You enter at St Andrews Links Clubhouse before 2pm. There is no fee to enter. If you're drawn, you pay the £295 green fee and you're on the next morning.

The odds vary heavily by season — typically around 10–15% in summer, better in spring and autumn. If you're in St Andrews for two or three days, enter every day you're there. It costs nothing and winning adds an Old Course round to a trip that was already good value without it.

More detail on the ballot process: Old Course Ballot Odds.

Where to stay on a budget in St Andrews

B&Bs in the town. Several excellent B&Bs in the residential streets off the main roads (Murray Park, Lade Braes, Queens Terrace) charge £70–95 per room per night. Smaller than hotels, more comfortable than chains, usually including breakfast.

Self-catering in the East Neuk. Crail, Anstruther, Pittenweem, and Elie are 20–35 minutes south of St Andrews. Cottages and flats here are often significantly cheaper than St Andrews accommodation and the drive to the Links is short. Good option for a group.

Dundee. 13 minutes by train to Leuchars (then 15 minutes by bus). Dundee has budget hotels in the city centre from around £50/night and direct rail access. The commute to St Andrews is easy and the savings are real for multi-night stays.

Where to eat on a budget

Westport Bar and Kitchen — good food at reasonable prices, well located in the town centre. Popular with students and locals rather than tourists.

The Wee Chippy — Dundee Street, no frills, exactly what it sounds like. After a cold morning on the links, this is correct.

The Rule, Northpoint, Love Crumbs — good coffee and lunch options within five minutes of the Links.

Anstruther Fish Bar — 11 miles south (20-minute drive), widely considered the best fish and chips in Scotland, possibly in the country. If you're self-catering in the East Neuk, or doing a long day that ends at Crail, this is worth going to specifically.

Total budget for two nights

Item	Estimate
2 nights B&B (twin, central)	£150–190
Day 1: Strathtyrum (two players)	£80
Day 2: Jubilee (two players)	£180
Food and drink, two days	£60–90
Travel (Edinburgh return by train + bus, two players)	£50–60
Total (two players)	~£520–600
Per player	~£260–300

A two-round visit to St Andrews that includes the Jubilee and Strathtyrum, two nights of B&B, all meals and travel, comes in at around £130–150 per person per day. If the Old Course ballot comes through, you've had three courses for the same cost.

---

For the Old Course ballot in more detail: Old Course Ballot: Odds, Calculator and What to Do If You Miss. For getting there without a car: How to Get to St Andrews by Train and Bus.